PALMA, Mozambique—Few roads lead to this fishing village on the eastern shores of Africa. Drinking water and electricity are in short supply. Hazards include venomous snakes, malaria-bearing mosquitoes and gun-toting antigovernment rebels.

But this is where Anadarko Petroleum Corp. wants to build one of the biggest projects ever attempted by a Western energy company. It has pledged to install acres of air-conditioned housing, an...